


Young Frodo and Sam take care of wee hobbits

by sophinisba



Category: Lord of the Rings (2001 2002 2003), Lord of the Rings - Tolkien
Genre: 1000-5000 Words, Gen, Hobbits, Kid Fic, Pre-Quest, wee hobbits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-08-27
Updated: 2006-08-27
Packaged: 2017-10-06 13:58:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophinisba/pseuds/sophinisba





	Young Frodo and Sam take care of wee hobbits

"How did you do that?" said Sam. "How did you make him go quiet like that?"

And Frodo looked like he would shrug if he weren't holding a baby in his arms and worried about waking him, so he smiled instead and said, "Practice, I suppose."

Pippin's parents were inside visiting with Bilbo and eating seedcakes, which Sam liked very much, and drinking tea, which Sam cared for not at all. So Sam didn't mind terribly being outside, but he wondered if Frodo, who liked his tea well enough, resented being sent out with the children. But he decided not to ask.

"That might be right," said Sam. "My big brothers and sisters are better at making Marigold do what they want, and maybe it's because they had practice with me already."

Frodo nodded. "Like I had practice with my cousin Merry when he was little."

"Da says I need to practice taking care of Marigold now since someday I'll have my own little ones to take care of," said Sam.

"That sounds like good advice," said Frodo, swaying a little with the baby.

"I don't think so."

"But why not, Sam?"

"Because I don't want to get married and I don't want to have little ones. And even if I did, they'd be good children, and well-behaved. Not like Marigold and Rosie."

As if on cue, the two little girls came running up the path and screaming as they came, and of course the noise woke Pippin, who immediately joined in the screaming. The girls stopped short and went quiet, repentant.

"See what you've done now?" said Sam.

"We were just playing," said Marigold, though it was a little hard to hear her over the baby's screams.

"Playing is fine, but you weren't supposed to yell, and you weren't supposed to get mud on your skirts."

"You didn't say that though!" said Rosie, who's cheeks were flushed from running but also, maybe just a little bit, from anger. "You said go and play and don't leave the garden and don't hurt the flowers. If you didn't want us to yell that should've been part of the rules!"

"Now, Rosie Cotton." Sam put his hands on his hips. "I'm talking to my little sister and you've no call to be sassing me as well."

"There, now," Frodo tried hushing Pippin, with very little effect. "Sam, do you think you could...?"

"What's that, Mr. Frodo?" But Sam knew perfectly well what Frodo meant, since he was holding the screaming baby out for Sam to take from him. "I don't think I'd know how to..."

"That's all right, Sam, I just need my hands free." Frodo had raised his voice a bit to be heard over Pippin's yelling, which of course, caused Pippin to yell louder, and rather than keep the argument going Sam took hold of the baby and did his best to start rocking him as he'd seen Frodo do. Frodo, mean while, crouched low to the ground so as to be able to look Marigold and Rosie in the eye as he spoke to them.

"It's true Sam didn't tell you not to yell or not to get your clothes dirty, and he probably wishes he had now. So, you can just imagine he's saying he's sorry, only he's too busy to tell you so himself because he's taking care of Pippin."

Sam frowned but didn't say anything. Pippin, for no reason Sam could tell, was actually starting to calm down now, and he didn't want to disturb whatever was happening.

"Here's the thing though," said Frodo. "You don't do something just because Sam says to do it. You do it because you want to."

"But mud is fun," Rosie said seriously, and Marigold, though too shy to speak, nodded her agreement.

"That's true!" said Frodo. "Mud is terrific, and Sam and I know it too, don't we, Sam?"

Pippin had not fallen asleep but had taken an interest in Sam's nose, and was delighted to see it move in his hand as Sam nodded.

"What's not as much fun," Frodo continued, "is washing clothes when they're stained. Who's going to be doing that for you then, Mari?"

"Daisy." Marigold dug in the dirt with her toe.

"She didn't tell us to be careful of her skirts either," Rosie put in.

"All right, I believe you," said Frodo. "You have to keep in mind though, is it going to take Daisy more time to wash now that there's the mud?"

"Probbly," said Marigold.

"And if that's true, then she'll have less time to do other things that she'd rather."

"Daisy doesn't like mud," said Marigold.

"All right, that's fine," said Frodo. "Not everyone does. But maybe she'd rather be going for a swim or reading a book than washing your skirts."

"Maybe."

"And maybe Pippin would rather be sleeping than screaming. And certainly Sam and I would rather be holding a sleeping baby than a screaming one."

"So?"

"So you see, running and yelling is great fun, and I wouldn't ask you to give it up. It's just best not to do it when Pippin's around, you see?"

"I don't like babies," said Rosie.

"Me neither," said Marigold. "They're no fun."

"That's what Sam thinks too," said Frodo. "So it's a good thing you two aren't babies anymore."

Well, there was something Sam could agree with, anyway.

"Good then," said Frodo. "Come, Sam and I will bring Pippin back inside with the grown-ups -- it's time he had something to eat anyway -- and you two run back to Number Three so Mari can get changed. We'll meet over by the well, and Sam and I can show you two some wonderful things to do with mud that won't get your clothes dirty. Does that sound all right?"

Sam didn't think spending more time with the girls sounded like a very good idea. He had liked his own plan of letting them run loose in the garden as long as they didn't make trouble. On the other hand, Frodo had got them to stop screaming. And Sam was big enough to watch the girls, it was true, but he wasn't so big that he wasn't interested in finding out what Frodo liked to do with mud.

"All right," he said, "but I hoped you girls have learned your lesson."

Marigold frowned as if confused, and Rosie stuck out her tongue, but then they both turned and ran away down the hill, and Sam decided that was taken care of well enough. Then he and Frodo, and Pippin quiet and happy and still in Sam's arms, turned around and went inside.


End file.
